Jesus made it clear that we are to be His witnesses wherever we are to whomever we are around. His final words to His disciples recorded in Acts 1 say as much – and these words apply to His disciples today as well. The question then becomes: How do we gauge how well we’re doing as His witness? For sure, we know that part of that answer lies in our actions and in our love for others, but we all know that our conversations play an important part in our witness as well -and this is where many of us struggle. What do we say to others to bear witness to Christ in our lives without coming across as trite, as rehearsed, or even worse, as overbearing?
Gina’s guest today is here to help! Alyssa Tocci is a mom and pastor of a house church network in Boston. She’s here to talk about how she and her husband engage in intentional yet very natural spiritual conversations with their neighbors, and she offers us some really helpful ideas on how we can do this ourselves.
Find out more about 3DM at: https://www.3dmovements.com/
MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:
New Fall Learning Communities with 3DM:
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.